HHS, Humana Promote New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Two newspapers examined recent efforts to promote the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries appear below.
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HHS: HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Tuesday met with local officials in Salt Lake City to discuss the Medicare prescription drug benefit and later met with beneficiaries at the Columbus South Salt Lake Senior Center to answer questions about the program. According to the Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News, Leavitt by the end of the month will have traveled to 30 states as part of a nationwide HHS campaign to promote the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Nielson-Stowell, Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News, 8/17).
- Humana: Humana, which plans to offer Medicare prescription drug plans in 46 states next year, on Wednesday launched a nationwide educational campaign about the prescription drug benefit. The campaign includes a "fleet" of recreational vehicles that display the Humana name and the words "Let's Talk," the AP/Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Ten of the RVs will make almost 500 stops by the end of October in 300 cities, where Humana officials will meet with Medicare beneficiaries at senior centers and Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores to provide information about the prescription drug benefit, discuss important dates and offer advice on enrollment (Schreiner, AP/Lexington Herald-Leader, 8/18).